Pharmacy chain connectivity

SUMMARY

When people start feeling unwell, they usually tend to first go to the pharmacy and get some remedies there to relieve their symptoms before making an appointment with a doctor. Historically, pharmacies have been present in most neighborhoods highly contributing to community health. However, over time, pharmacies have evolved from small apothecaries to large pharmaceutical chains with a much wider product offering, including hygiene products, food, and cosmetics. Pharmacies became multifaceted entities much like supermarkets.

CHALLENGE

Managing a chain of pharmacies is a complex process with a complicated supply chain and logistics streamlined across every drugstore. Every sale of a prescription drug needs to be tracked and replenished timely to efficiently serve the clients with the medications they need. To be able to track this process, the drugstore needs to be always online. Incorrect or delayed distribution of goods can affect not just customer satisfaction and profit, but also has negative effects on public health.

The other challenge is the efficient economical deployment across every pharmacy in the chain. They need a unified solution that is easy to scale, secure, and can be managed remotely from the headquarters for maintenance and troubleshooting.

TOPOLOGY

SOLUTION

In this solution, the pharmacy chain infrastructure is centrally managed from the headquarters. A RUTX08 router is used to connect to the internet and RMS, and a VPN network is established to securely exchange the data among each pharmacy and the HQ.

Then locally, in each pharmacy, a TSW100 switch is connected to the RUTX08 and provides internet to IP cameras and phones. The PoE technology of this device allows a quick and economical plug-n-play setup. Besides, using the Connect feature of the Remote Management System (RMS) enables remotely reaching not just Teltonika Networks equipment but also cameras and phones for configuration and maintenance. Gigabit Ethernet ports available in the TSW100 switch provide enough data throughput required for uncompromised camera image quality.

The RUTX10 router is connected to the RUTX08 over Ethernet and provides the WIFI connectivity required for the rest of the solution: scanners, tablets, and the POS, which are all interconnected. Whenever a scanner is used for a product or a sale is registered, all of this data is sent to the HQ to avail for efficient planning and supply chain.

BENEFITS

• Security – Ethernet router RUTX08 provides a secure connection via VPN and RMS.
• Unlimited accessibility – RMS Connect allows to remotely reach devices behind router, like cameras and IP phones.
• Economical – PoE technology allows to quickly connect deploy and power-up devices reducing the complexity of the solution.
• Scalability – such solution could be quickly and easily applied in most pharmacy chains.

WHY TELTONIKA NETWORKS?

Over extensive experience in the networking field, we gained the in-depth knowledge and know-how required for various industries and their needs. As such, we have worked out a broad portfolio and can offer different products to meet the demands of each client and ensure the maximum performance of their solutions.